Dear Friends of the CIW,
It is an exciting time in the development of the CIW. I want to be a part of it, and I hope you will too. The abundance of activities outlined in this e-bulletin, is to show that we are closing in on a project launch date. I can now tell you that it will happen in the spring of 2009.
I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your continued support and interest in the CIW. I’ll be able to share more information with you later in the fall regarding the new CIW board, launch events and activities. Meanwhile, enjoy the remainder of our beautiful Canadian summer.
Sincerely,
Roy J. Romanow
Founding Chair, CIW Institute Board
The (global) city that never sleeps…
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been very active in the months since the Second World Forum on ‘Measuring and Fostering the Progress of Societies’ that took place in Istanbul in June 2007. Following on the heels of the success of the keynote plenary speech given by The Honourable Roy J. Romanow, he is pleased to have an article in the first issue of the OECD’s “Measuring the Progress of Societies” newsletter published in March 2008. This is an important opportunity to share what is happening around the world to advance overall societal progress. Commitment to measuring and fostering genuine progress is highlighted on four continents in this first issue.
Top of the heap…
The CIW model is being built by Canadian and international experts in wellbeing measurement. The CIW leadership has secured the assistance of over 30 Canadian and international experts who have not been associated with the project, to review all of the CIW research to date. Reports by the external reviewers have been completed for 5 domains and the approach/composite document and are in progress for the other domains. General themes of the reviews received so far include: “this is pioneering work, keep going”, “such an index is badly needed”, and “here are some recommendations for improving the report”. This review is informing revisions to the existing reports, so that at launch, the Index will reflect an accurate and true accounting of the state of wellbeing of Canadians.
Start spreading the news….
The Honourable Roy J. Romanow with the support of other CIW members have been actively promoting the CIW. Here is a snapshot:
ØØ Speech by Roy J. Romanow “Canada’s Shared Destiny and the Future of Medicare”, presented to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, January 17, 2008.
ØØ Speech by Roy J. Romanow “The Canadian Health Care System: Successes and Future Challenges” presented to The Institute for Advanced Policy Solutions and the Center for Health, Culture and Society, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, January 29, 2008
ØØ Speech by Roy J. Romanow “Bridging the Gap: Reconnecting to Canadian Values” presented to the Saskatoon Canadian Club April 16, 2008.
ØØ Presentation by Lynne Slotek to the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre’s Monitoring Committee, Canadian Council on Learning, April 24, 2008 in Toronto.
font color=red>ØØ Op-ed by Roy J. Romanow “Time to connect social objectives to public policy” appeared in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix May 2, 2008.
ØØ Presentation by Lynne Slotek to Senate Subcommittee on Population Health of the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology titled “Population Health Policy, Issues and Options Paper: Tracking Health Outcomes and Investment in Population Health Research & Knowledge”, May 14, 2008, Ottawa.
ØØ Speech by Roy J. Romanow “Bridging the Gap: Reconnecting to Canadian Values” presented to the McClure Place Foundation, June 17, 2008, Saskatoon.
ØØ Report released June 24, 2008 by two of our CIW Network members: Hugh Mackenzie and Hans Messinger for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). It is the first Canadian study to link national income and consumption patterns with global warming. Size Matters: Canada’s Ecological Footprint, By Income, shows that higher-income Canadians create a much bigger footprint than poorer Canadians. The original work on the Ecological Footprint and Canadian lifestyle consumption was funded by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation as part of the development of the CIW.
ØØ Presentation by Alex Michalos, Director of Research to the Sixth International Conference on Community Indicators hosted by the Community Indicators Consortium, June 26-28, Arlington, VA.
What’s Next?
Finishing touches on R&D
Work on the Living Standards, Community Vitality, and Healthy Populations domains are in the final stages of revision based on external review. These domains will inform a policy application workshop happening in November 2008. Work on the remaining domains is continuing and on target to be completed in time for our launch next spring.
After Canadian-wide RFP’s, Prairie Wild Consulting, in partnership with Holden & Associates, were selected to develop the Civic Engagement domain and the Lifestyle Information Network (LIN) was selected to develop the Arts, Culture & Recreation domain. It is anticipated that the Civic Engagement report will be included in the launch. The Arts, Culture & Recreation work is just beginning with the initial report due this fall.
CIW Institute Board – ready, set, go
The CIW Institute development is on target. Mr. Romanow, as Founding Chair, has recruited a number of Canadian and international leaders to sit on the board. He is currently contacting other ‘prominent’ Canadians who can also provide expertise in communications, public engagement, governance and stewardship while at the same time ensuring ethnic, gender, age, and regional diversity. The inaugural meeting of the board is set for September 23, 2008.
An international advisory committee has also been set up with the following members to date: Dennis Trewin (former head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Chair of the Global Executive Board, World Bank); Jon Hall (Project Coordinator, Measuring Societal Progress, OECD); and Hazel Henderson (co-creator of the Calvert-Henderson Quality of Life System (US) and the President of EthicalMarkets, a financial lifestyle TV series, website, and newsletter reporting new definitions of success e.g. green building, socially responsible investing, etc.).
Stakeholder Engagement and Communications Strategy
In preparation for the launch, a stakeholder engagement and communications strategy has been finalized and includes key messaging, media relations and outreach, speaking tours/engagement and op-ed opportunities for Roy Romanow, regional and local conferences to promote the CIW, an annual symposium, a new and updated website, logo revisions and branding strategy. Stay tuned for more details this fall.